


|-| The Woman on Dead Tree Hill | - |

by CrayolaColor



Category: End Roll (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Internal Conflict, Light Angst, Not sure what else to tag as, Russell is also mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-28
Updated: 2017-10-28
Packaged: 2019-01-25 08:28:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12527208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrayolaColor/pseuds/CrayolaColor
Summary: Cody leaves in the middle of an important battle, due to her own internal conflict.





	|-| The Woman on Dead Tree Hill | - |

**Author's Note:**

> | - | Note: Yes, I am aware any sane person wouldn't go into this battle without another helper member besides Cody and Dogma, but meh. It works better this way. | - |

Cody stared up at the woman who stood on the tree, confused and unsure. "...I think I know her..." She said quietly, glancing briefly at her brother to see if he shared the same thought. Judging by the conflicted look in his eyes, she could tell he did. “I don't.. I don't want to fight her." She whispered, taking a couple steps back.

Dogma stopped for a minute and looked at his sister. "Cody, don't think about it!" Then turning back to the woman, stood determined to fight. "For the people of this town, in God's name I will purge you!"

And with that the fight began. Fire was flying everywhere, and Cody had to duck and dodge to keep from getting singed. She knew she needed to help her brother and Russell, but she just couldn't get past her initial thoughts.

Cody had so many conflicting feelings about the situation, and she wasn't sure which voice to listen to. But then, she made eyecontact with the woman they were fighting, and saw pure sorrow in her eyes.

She knew without a doubt that she couldn't fight against her. She briefly glanced at her brother and Russell, and then turned and fled without a word. She heard Dogma call after her, but she didn't stop.

She left Dead Tree Hill and went back into the main part of Darcover- She had momentarily forgotten about the fire, but it had already died down enough that she was safe where she was. Sitting down on the ground, she waited for Dogma and Russell.

She felt a stab of guilt as she realized she had left the two of them to fight alone, but she couldn't have fought against the woman. She had a sickening feeling inside of her that it just wasn't right.

The sorrow in the woman's eyes, the woman that looked so much like... That looked so much like their mother, had been too much for Cody to take. She knew her brother had seen it too, but he had somehow been able to ignore it. She just couldn't.

She waited for quite some time, and was starting to get concerned about the two of them, but eventually they finally emerged from Dead Tree Hill. Their clothes were singed, but neither of them looked like they were badly hurt.

Cody bit her lip, standing up, and glanced at them. She briefly made eyecontact with Dogma, but he said nothing to her about what had just happened.

"... We should tell the citizens they're safe." He said to both her and Russell, and began walking towards the place all of Darcover's residents were gathered.

She started to follow, but then stopped, and took a step back. "...Actually, Dogma, I think I'm going to go home... You two can talk to them." Without even waiting for his reply, she quickly left the town and headed straight back to her house.

She shut the door and locked it, and sighing, leaned against a wall. She hadn't gotten the chance to tell her brother what she'd initially come to tell him, but she kind of hoped Russell would have the foresight to tell him for her, because there was no way she was doing it herself now.

Some time passed, and then she heard quiet knocking on her front door. "Cody...? May I come in?" Dogma called from outside the door. "We need to talk..."

Cody contemplated just ignoring him, but quickly changed her mind. She took a deep breath, then stood up and walked over to the door, unlocking it. "Okay, I unlocked the door." She took a step back and let her brother come in.

She looked down at the floor, not wanting to make eyecontact with him. She knew he had to be beyond mad at her for leaving in the middle of battle, and she really didn't blame him. She would be mad too if someone abandoned her to fight on her own.

"...Cody, please look at me."

Cody winced, and looked up at her brother. Without even waiting for him to speak, she quickly tried to explain. "Dogma, I'm sorry, but I just couldn't fight her! Didn't you see it too!? How much she looked like..."

"... Yes, Cody, of  **_course_ ** I saw it." He sighed. "I faltered as well for a moment, and I think you noticed that. But, I also managed to see past it. It was only a  **_visage_ ** Cody, she-... It was trying to trick us into letting our guard down, and it worked on  **_you_ ** ."

"But do you  **_really_ ** know that for a fact? Couldn't I have been right as well?" She asked him, looking straight into his eyes. "I couldn't take that risk, no matter how small it was.  **_I couldn't risk killing our own mother._ ** "

Dogma was stunned into silence for a brief moment. "...... C..Cody, surely you know our mother never would have done such a thing as what that monster did to Darcover? It couldn't have really been her..."

"...Maybe. I know you're probably right, but  **_I just couldn't get past the doubt_ ** . I didn't want to leave you and Russell to fight alone, I really, really didn't, but... Did you see the way she was looking at us? Dogma, I... I couldn't do it. I couldn't fight her."

He looked at her, not sure what else to say. "... Alright, Cody. I understand. I still don't agree with you leaving us, but I'm not going to debate you anymore. It's gotten very late, I'm going to go back to the Church..."

"Okay.." Cody looked down again, then hesitating a minute, spoke again. "Uhh.. Did Russell tell you why we followed you to Darcover?"

"Yes, I asked. We can talk about that later on, I think after all of that a broken statue is the  _ least _ of our worries."

"Right... Okay, I'll.. see you later."

Dogma nodded to his sister, then headed back to the Church.   


Besides her guilt for leaving her brother and Russell to fight alone, she also felt kind of guilty about the fact she seemed to have made her brother doubt himself. She really hadn't meant to make him feel guilty as well.

Sighing, she finally decided that she could think about this more tomorrow. Right now, she just needed to go to bed... And hope she wasn't plagued with nightmares of the woman on Dead Tree Hill.


End file.
